Things must change for Houston on defense
Kansas City collapse proves defense needs new direction
Jan 12, 2020, 5:34 pm
The Texans defense falls apart in loss to Chiefs
Seven straight touchdown drives
Travis Kelce is a grown man 💪 @tkelce pic.twitter.com/zqbCb9Zsgw
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 12, 2020
The Texans allowed seven consecutive touchdown drives. Seven. No stops in there. The first Chiefs drive was an easy pitch and catch for the Chiefs that saw the Texans totally lose the Chiefs receivers. The next two, maybe a little tougher to criticize. Two short fields though were turned into touchdowns with little effort from Kansas City. There were no fourth down conversions. There were no miraculous highlight plays. Just offense. It worked. Really well. The Chiefs rarely saw third down after two early drops on the key down.
The Lonnie Johnson plan failed miserably
Absolutely unstoppable 😤 @tkelce pic.twitter.com/Of7PVwyaeS
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 12, 2020
Lonnie Johnson was tasked with defending Travis Kelce. He did little of that. Kelce dropped a play early, but the Chiefs tight end dominated the Texans from that point on. 10 catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns was the day for the Chiefs best offensive weapon.
Yes, Tashaun Gipson and Jahleel Addae were missing but there is no excuse for ineptitude by the defense when defending Kanas City's tight end.
Defensive composition contains same questions as start of 2019
The Texans have all the same questions on defense at the end of their season that persisted before the start of the season.
There is no clear solution at cornerback. Lonnie Johnson has looked lost more often than not. Johnathan Joseph could be close to retirement and finally has had injuries creep up as a concern for him. Gareon Conley is assuredly on the team after the team used a third round pick on him in a trade. Vernon Hargreaves is due nearly $10 million next season and has yet to impress since showing up in Houston.
There is nearly no pass rush. Irregular contributions from Jacob Martin and Charles Omenihu were nice surprises but they stayed irregular. J.J. Watt had a lot of success, and he could be counted on to a degree, but he's another year older. Whitney Mercilus is here to stay with his new contract despite a down season of production.
Historic failure
The Chiefs are the first team in postseason history to finish with 50 or more points after not scoring in the first quarter, according to Elias.
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) January 12, 2020
The above stat says it all.
Romeo's time has passed
It is time for Romeo Crennel to go. The game has now passed him by. There are too may young quarterbacks doing amazing things on offense for a defensive coordinator like him to continue coaching. There are rarely adjustments and any sort of quarterback mobility renders plans useless often.
Bill O'Brien can't stand pat after this type of performance. He has to find someone else to run his defense. They will have to get better with coaching, because there won't be a ton of options to improve their team with draft picks and money.
After the game, Bill O'Brien said he expected Crennel to return to the team.
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Coming off a dominant offensive performance, the Houston Astros return to the field Wednesday night looking to keep their momentum rolling against the Athletics. Cam Smith’s four-hit breakout powered a 13-3 rout on Tuesday, and now the Astros aim to take control of the series in Game 3 of the four-game set.
Houston, sitting atop the AL West at 42-31, will send left-hander Framber Valdez to the mound. Valdez has been in strong form all season, posting a 7-4 record with a 3.10 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 2025. He’ll be looking to build on Houston’s recent pitching success. The Astros have held opponents to a 2.60 ERA over their last 10 games while going 7-3 in that span and outscoring opponents by 24 runs.
The A’s will counter with veteran right-hander Luis Severino, who enters with a 2-6 record and a 4.47 ERA. While his season has been inconsistent, Severino still has the ability to miss bats and will look to keep an Astros lineup in check that’s hitting .271 over its last 10 contests.
The Athletics come in at 30-45 overall and 13-24 at home, and though they've dropped three of four to the Astros this season, the power potential is always there. The A’s have launched 92 home runs so far — seventh-most in the majors — with Tyler Soderstrom and Max Muncy continuing to anchor the offense. Soderstrom has already racked up 14 homers and 45 RBIs on the year, while Muncy has gone deep three times over his last 10 games.
Houston’s offense has been steadily rising, fueled by key performances from both veterans and emerging talent. Jeremy Peña continues to provide steady production with 15 doubles and nine homers on the year, while rookie Cam Smith has caught fire, going 14-for-40 with four doubles and two homers in his last 10 games.
The Astros are 33-13 this season when they out-hit their opponent, and they’ll look to follow that blueprint again Wednesday. First pitch is set for 10:05 p.m. EDT in West Sacramento, with Houston holding a 3-1 edge in the season series.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -162, Athletics +136; over/under is 9 runs
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